Issue 13

Vinayaka Kavacham - The Ganesh Armour that Protects Devotees The fourth thithi of each moon phase is known as Chathurthi. Chathur = four. Chathurthi is the fourth of the 15 thithis in one moon phase. Each thithi's duration is roughly equal to that of a day. 24 to 25 Chathurthis occur each year. Lord Ganesh and Chathurthi Thithi Each thithi has its own specialties. The Chathurthi thithi is particularly ideal for worshipping Lord Ganesh. While we must start every daily pooja by worshipping Lord Ganesh, we should perform elaborate pooja, the homam fire ceremony and anna dhaanam (feeding the poor) in Sri Ganesha's honor at least on every Chathurthi. In a brilliant little book on Ganesha published by the Agasthiar Ashram in the 1980s, Sathguru Venkataraman taught us that everyone of us should do a simple homa (havan) fire ceremony by ourselves for Lord Ganesh at least on every Chathurthi. At least 24 to 25 Special Ganesh Worship Days in Each Year As we said before, 24 to 25 Chathurthis occur each year. Every Chathurthi day is a special worship day for Lord Ganesh. How does one find out when these special worship days occur? Easy! You can look up the Chathurthi dates and times for your timezone using our free Agasthiar Panchang Spiritual Calendar. Each (waxing or waning) moon phase is known as a paksham. There are two pakshams in each maasam (month). The waxing phase is called Sukla paksham and the waning phase is called Krishna paksham. Of the 24 or 25 Chathurthi thithis in a year, that Chathurthi that occurs in the waxing phase (Shukla Paksham) of the Aavani maasam is the famous and very important Ganesh Chathurthi. In the year 2ØØ1, Ganesh Chathurthi occurs on Aug/22/2ØØ1 in India and on Aug/21/2ØØ1 in the United States. Sri Shodasa Nitya Varna Siddha Poojitha Ganapathi Please click here for details on Shodasa Ganapathi pooja and Sri Veera Ganapathi, the Lord of Chathurthi thithi. Please click here for details on Angaaraka Chathurthi. Please click here for details on Sri Rathna Garbha Ganapathi, the reformer of lost souls. Please click here for daily Ganesh worship. The Divine Alone can Protect The one and only protective power in the world is the power of the Divine. We stress it here because Sathguru Venkataraman repeatedly taught us that there is no other protective power than God. God is the one and only protection shakti, the Sathguru taught us. Only the Lord can offer protection against any ill or danger. Only He can protect us from maaya and keep us steady on the spiritual path. A Practical Way of Requesting the Lord's Protection - The Kavacha Mantra Armor Hymns This protection is made available through surrender to the Lord via the kavacham or armour hymns, for example, the armour hymn of Lord Sarabesvara Siva, the great protector, motivator and well wisher. Kavacha or Kavacham = Armour. It implies protection. The Kavacha mantras are Armour Mantras or Protection Mantras that explicitly request the Lord to protect us. While the very meaning of the word mantra is to protect, the Kavacha Mantras make it that much more explicit. The efficacy of the armour hymns depend on the devotee's faith. They work best for those who have surrendered to the Lord. He or she who surrenders every part of his or her body to the Lord and seeks His protection will surely get it. This is why we have provided the meanings for the Ganesh armour hymn below so you can see how the Lord's protection is explicitly invoked in each line of the hymn. It should become clear that the Lord's protection becomes available when every part of the body is surrendered to the Lord's care and all activities are done for Him, by Him and through Him. The Ganesh Armour Hymn - Ganesha Kavacha Sloka For the sake of devotees, we provide the Vinayaka kavacham armour hymn in transliterated English (with line-by-line meaning) and in Tamil. (Vinayaka is a name of Lord Ganesh.) This hymn explicitly requests Lord Ganesh's protection for every body part, for one's life, loved ones, home, assets and one's very existence. (The word kaakka in every line of this sloka is the explicit request to the Lord to protect). Ganesh devotees should recite the Vinayaka kavacham hymn and beseech Lord Ganesh to protect them. They should recite it a minimum of 3 times a day, but Siddhas suggest 12, 21, 30, 51, 108, 1008 and 10008 or more times a day for ardent devotees. You can find the text of the mantra (in both English and Tamil), the meaning of each line of the mantra and audio help below.

Audio Help for the Ganesh Kavacha Armor Mantra

Vinayaka Kavacham - Ganesha Kavacha The protective armour hymn of Lord Sri Ganesh www.Agasthiar.Org To share with friends, please copy-paste only the link to this article (and not the text). The link is as follows: http://www.Agasthiar.Org/AUMzine/0013-ganesh.htm
The text in (transliterated) English	Line-by-Line Meaning
1. vaLar sikai-yai paraa-baramaai vayangu vinaayakar kaakka	May Vinayagar protect the crown of my head and my hair
2. vaaindha senni aLavu-padaa adhiga savundhara dhEga madhOr-kadar thaam amarndhu kaakka	May Vinayaaka protect my head
3. viLa-rara netriyai endrum viLangiya kaasipar kaakka	May Vinayaga protect my forehead
4. puruvam thammaith thaLarvin mahO-dharar kaakka	May Mahodhara Ganesh protect my eye brows
5. thada vizhikaL baala-chandhiran-aar kaakka	May Balachandra Vinayaga protect my eyes
6. kavin vaLarum adharam gajamukar kaakka	May Gajamukha Ganesha protect my lips
7. thaalam gaNak-kireedar kaakka	May Ganakreeda Vinayaka protect my tongue
8. navil sipukam girijai-sudhar kaakka	May Girija-sutha Vinayaka protect my mouth(?)
9. nani-vaakkai vinaayakar thaam kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my speech
10. avir nagai dhun-mugar kaakka	May Dhunmukha Vinayaka protect my smile
11. aL ezhil senjevi paasa-paaNi kaakka	May Paasapaani Vinayaka protect my ears
12. thavirthal-uraadhu ilang-kodi pOl vaLar-mani-naasi-yaich chindhi-dharth-thar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my nose
13. kaama-rupoo mugam thannaik gunEsar nani kaakka	May Gunesa Vinayaka protect my face
14. kaLam ganEsar kaakka	May Ganesa Vinayaka protect my neck/throat
15. vaamam urum iru-thOLum vayangu kandha-poorvajar thaam makizhndhu kaakka	May Skanda Poorvaja Vinayaka protect my shoulders
16. Emam urum maNi-mulai viggina vinaasan kaakka	May Vigna Vinaasaka Vinayaka protect my breast
17. idhayam thannaith thOm agalum gaNa-naadhar kaakka	May Gananatha Ganesha protect my heart
18. agattinaith thulangu Erambar kaakka	May Heramba Vinayaka protect my middle
19. pakkam iraNdaiyum dharaa-dharar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my sides
20. pirut-taththai paavum neekkum viggina-karan kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my posterior
21. viLangi lingam viyaaLa-poodanar thaam kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my genitals
22. thakka kuyyam thannai vaggira-thuNdar kaakka	May Vakrathunda Vinayaka protect my anus
23. saganath-thai al-lal ukka gaNaban kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my loins/hips
24. ooruvai maNgaLa moorth-thi uvandhu kaakka	May Mangala Moorthi Vinayaka protect my thighs
25. thaazh muzhan-dhaal mahaa-buththi kaakka	May Mahabuddhi Vinayaka protect my knees and legs
26. iru-padham Eka-dhanthar kaakka	May Eka Dhantha Vinayaka protect my feet
27. vaazh karang-gap pirap-prasaadhanar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my arms
28. mun-kaiyai vaNanguvaar nOi aazh-tharach-chei aasaa-poorakar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my forearms
29. viral padhuma aththar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my fingers
30. kEzh-kiLarum nagang-gaL vinaayakar kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my nails
31. kizhakkinil budh-dheesar kaakka	May Buddheesa Vinayaka protect me in the East
32. ag-giniyil sidh-dheesar kaakka	May Siddheesa Vinayaka protect me in the Southeast
33. umaa-puth-thirar then aasai kaakka	May Uma Putra Ganesh protect me in the South
34. mikka nirudhiyil ganE-surar kaakka	May Ganesura Vinayaka protect me in the Southwest
35. viggina-varth-thanar mErkku ennum dhikku adhanil kaakka	May Vignavartha Vinayaka protect me in the West
36. vaayuvil kasa-kan-nan kaakka	May Vinayaka protect my Northwest
37. thigazhu dheesi-thakka nidhiban kaakka	May Vinayaka protect me in the North
38. vada-kizhakkil eesa-nandha-narE kaakka	May Eesa Nandhana Vinayaka protect my Northeast
39. Eka-dhanthar pakal muzhudhum kaakka	May Eka Danta Vinayaka protect me through out the day
40. iravinunj chandhi-iraNdan maattum Ogaiyin viggina kirudhu kaakka	May Vinayaka protect me in the night and at dawn and dusk
41. iraak-kadhar boodham uru-vEdhaaLam mOhini pEi ivai-yaadhi uyirth-thirath-thaal varum thuyarum mudivu illaadha vega-muru piNi palavum vilak-ku pu-paasaangusar thaam viraindhu kaakka	May Paasa-Angusa Vinayaka protect me from all the problems caused by evil spirits and from all kinds of diseases
42. madhi gyaanam thavam dhaanam maanam oLi pugazh kulam vaN sareera mutrum padhivaana dhanam dhaaniyam giragam manaivi maindhar payil natpaadhig-gadhi-yaavum kalandhu sarvaayudhar kaakka	May Sarva-Ayudha Vinayaka protect my intellect, spiritual intelligence, spiritual life, charitable endeavors, honor, wealth, property, house, spouse, children and friends
43. kaamar pavuth-thirar mun-naana vidhi-yaarum sutra-melaam mayoorEsar eng-yaandrum virumbik kaakka	May Mayuresa Vinayaka protect my grandchildren, ancestors and all my relatives
44. vendri see-vidhang kapilar kaakka	May Kapila Vinayaka protect my life/existence
45. kari-yaadhi-elaam vigadar kaakka	May Vigada Vinayaka protect all these
46. endru ivvaaru idhu thanai muk-kaalamum Odhidin num-paal idai-yooru ondrum ondru-raa munivar-kaaL ariminkaL yaar oruvar Odhinaalum mandra-vaangu avar dhEgam piNi-ara vach-chira-dhEgam aagi man-num	if you chant this in the morning, noon and evening, no problems will beset you whoever chants this his/her body will be rid of diseases and will endure

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Om Salutations to Lord Ganesh Om Salutations to Maha Guru Sri Agasthiar Om Salutations to the Agasthiar Lineage Om Salutations to the Siddhas